Desiring a Pearl
by brookemopolitan
Summary: Set after Slap in the Face. Rachel finds herself, and this new girl knows who she is and what she wants. Hummelberry, pre Klaine if you squint and of course Puckleberry  many thanks to my beautiful beta!


Just a little follow up to Slap in the Face. I couldn't keep fierce!Rachel away.

I'm insulted you think i own glee. You really think my writing is that shoddy and inconsistent? hehe

* * *

Rachel sat at her laptop, making a few final edits to her latest MySpace video. She smiled when an iChat window popped up.

**Kurt: Babe! Just thought of the perfect song for you! Sending sheet music now!**

Rachel typed a reply without hesitation.

**Rachel: I was just about to post a video to my account that you inspired. Care for a sneak peak?**

**Kurt: oh, you know it *grin***

Rachel quickly attached the file to an email and hit send.

**Kurt: Got it. I'll let you know what I think.**

Rachel deliberated about posting the video. She decided to wait for Kurt's reaction, and instead busied herself with printing the sheet music Kurt had sent her. She grinned when she saw what had been sent. _Popular _began to blast out of her phone.

"Hey hey hey!"Rachel said cheerfully. She heard Kurt draw a tearful breath.

"Babe..." He said tightly.

"Hey, no tears! You're a firework babe." Rachel admonished him gently.

"These are happy tears." Kurt reassured her.

"Well then I suppose that's ok." Rachel decided.

"Thanks gorgeous. It means a lot. I needed to hear something like that." Kurt said.

"No problem at all. I guess I'm not the only one to get Katy Perry's new album?" Rachel asked.

"I borrowed it from Blaine. I heard it and thought of you." Kurt said.

"I want to meet him." Rachel declared. Kurt made a weird huffy noise.

"If he's important to you, he's important to me. I call straight girl best friend rights." Rachel said firmly.

"I'll take it under consideration." Kurt said finally.

"I'm raising an eyebrow at you here. If I had an almost boyfriend, I'd let you meet him." Rachel cajoled him playfully.

"You could have an almost boyfriend if you wanted one. Puck kinda likes you, remember?" Kurt pointed out. Rachel sighed and laid down on her bed.

"There's one small problem. Puck doesn't do girlfriends. He does girls once in the back of his truck." Rachel argued.

"We both know he'd change that if an amazing girl came into his life and forced him to step up." Kurt suggested.

"And who says I'm amazing? Besides, the last time we dated it was practically a federal disaster." Rachel asserted.

"First of all, I say you're amazing, and second, the only reason it was a federal disaster was because you didn't invest yourself into it the way you should have, and don't pretend you don't know that's the case." Kurt chastised her gently. Rachel picked up the sheet music Kurt had sent her.

"Would you play piano for me on this song?" Rachel asked.

"Way to change the subject Rachel!" Kurt moaned.

"No, seriously. I can't imagine doing it any other way." Rachel said.

"Sure. I'd love to."Kurt agreed.

"How does Saturday work for you? My dad has a business meeting right near Dalton, so I'll just hitch a ride and come hang out with you."

"Sounds great to me." Kurt said after consulting his day planner.

"It's a date." Rachel decided.

"Well, I need to get working on my geometry, so I'm gonna love you and leave you. Kisses!" Kurt said.

"Bye Kurt." Rachel replied. She went back to her computer and hit upload on her MySpace account with a smile.

* * *

Rachel closed her locker with a satisfied smile. So far her newest MySpace video had been spam free, and she'd managed to duck Jacob Ben-Israel, whom; after her highly public breakup with Finn; had taken to stalking her down the hallways.

"Its totally unfair." Puck said. Rachel looked up at him.

"What's unfair?" She asked.

"You put songs on your MySpace for Hummel, and you've done how many dopey love songs for Frankenteen, but not once do I get so much as a shout out." Puck complained. Rachel shrugged.

"And why should I give you a shout out?" Rachel asked. Puck grabbed her and pulled her into a gap between two bays of locker. Jacob Ben-Israel crept past, muttering about how he was sure he could smell Rachel's perfume.

"Because I just saved your ass from Jewfro. And because I'm awesome." He explained. Rachel licked her lips and looked up at him. In this close proximity, the smell of his cologne was intoxicating. She took a deep breath. She fought back a smile at not having to feel guilty about enjoying his delicious scent (she'd noticed it way back when he first joined Glee, and she could safely call herself addicted after the ill fated one week relationship).

"Well, when I think of a song for you, I'll sing it." Rachel said. With a tremendous show of self control, Rachel slipped out of the gap between the lockers and walked to her European history class, flipping her hair over her shoulder and her hips gently swinging.

* * *

Rachel arrived first to Glee club rehearsal...no surprises there. She was content to sit quietly, reading over some notes for English class. She smiled when she heard Puck sit down next to her.

"Have you thought of a song?" he asked her. Rachel shrugged.

"Maybe." She answered with grin.

"Tease." He accused her playfully.

"I guess I can own that." Rachel admitted. She let out a tiny squeal when Puck poked her in the ribcage and immediately poked him back. An inevitable poking war broke out. Rachel served him with a glare and sat down gracefully as Mr. Schue called out for attention.

"Here we go guys, the challenge is you." Mr. Schue said.

"Like me, personally?" Finn asked.

"Or like, the letter?" Brittany wondered. Rachel shook her head.

"Either. I don't mind. If you can prove a link, you can do it. I have a guest judge coming in to pick the male and female lead for our next performance, to be used at regionals. Do your best guys. Show us something we've never seen before. The winning song will be chosen with our male and female leads in mind." Mr. Schue said. He then got the group up and got them to start working on a group number.

* * *

Rachel climbed out of her dad's car, wrapping a scarf around her throat and pulling a hat down over her ears to guard her throat from the wintery air. She grinned and giggled when Kurt ran over and pulled her into a bear hug.

"Hey, hey firework." She giggled into his ear.

"How you doing pretty lady?" He asked her affectionately, squeezing her shoulders.

"Struggling to breathe, but hey, who needs air?" She teased. Kurt grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the main hall of Dalton Academy. Rachel looked up at the skylights and ornate staircases.

"Wow." She breathed. She looked over to Kurt.

"Maybe its a good thing everyone calls me Man Hands. If I shaved my head and wore pants, would I look like enough of a boy to go to school here? It looks like somebody pulled it straight out of a novel." Rachel marvelled.

"It is kinda gorgeous. And no, shaving your head isn't enough Mulan." Kurt teased. Rachel took her time to take in the pretty, pretty school as she followed Kurt up to the Warblers common room.

"I can see why you love it here." Rachel said. Kurt smiled.

"There are a few reasons." Kurt replied. Rachel pulled the sheet music out of her bag.

"Ok, so I've made a few changes, do you want to work through it a few times before we record?" Rachel asked. Kurt held his grin back. His powerhouse was back.

* * *

Rachel set up the camera in record time, fluffed her hair, fixed her lipgloss and hit record.

"Hey guys, I'm singing to you live from Dalton Academy, where my beautiful friend Kurt goes to school. A little while ago I recorded the Katy Perry song _Firework _with Kurt in mind, and now he's going to help me out with another song of Katy's latest album. So thanks to Katy for writing the soundtrack to my life right now, and I hope you enjoy!" Rachel spoke into the camera. Rachel gently tapped the opening beats on her thigh and began to sing a capella.

_She is a pyramid__  
__But with him she's just a grain of sand__  
__This loves too strong like mice and men__  
__Squeezing out the life that should be let in_

Kurt began to play along with Rachel's voice.

_She was a hurricane__  
__But now she's just a gust of wind__  
__She used to set the sails of a thousand ships__  
__Was a force to be reckoned with_

Rachel loved the light harmonising that Kurt had improvised over the melody

_She could be a statue of liberty__  
__She could be Joan of Arc__  
__But he's scared of the light that's inside of her__  
__So he keeps her in the dark_

_Oh she used to be a pearl__  
__Ohh yeah she used to rule the world__  
__Ohhhh cant believe she's become a shell of herself__  
__Cause she used to be a pearl_

_She was unstoppable__  
__Moved fast as like an avalanche__  
__But now she's stuck deep in some man__  
__Wishing that they never ever met_  
_She could be a statue of liberty__  
__She could be a Joan of Arc__  
__But he's scared of the light that's inside of her__  
__So he keeps her in the dark_

As Rachel broke into the second chorus, Kurt began to sing with her

_Oh She used to be a pearl__  
__Ohh yeah she used to rule the world__  
__Ohhhh can't believe she's become a shell of herself__  
__Cause she used to be a_

_Do you know that there's a way out__  
__There's a way out__  
__There's a way out__  
__There's a way out__  
__You don't have to be held down__  
__Be held down__  
__Be held down__  
__Be held down__  
_

The piano dropped back to just playing chords softly in the background. Rachel looked directly at the camera and sang

_Cause I used to be a shell...__  
__Yeah I let him rule my world__  
__My world Ohhh yeah_

The music gently began to build around Rachel's voice

_But I woke up and grew strong and I can still go on__  
__And No one can take my pearl__  
__You don't have to be a shell No__  
__You're the one that rules your world Ohh__  
__You are strong and you'll learn__  
__That you can still go on__  
__And you'll always be a pearl__  
__She is unstoppable__. _

Rachel quickly moved to stop the recording. She and Kurt crowded round the tiny screen to watch it back.

"Are you happy with it?" Rachel asked. Kurt looked at her.

"This is your video." He reminded her.

"Yeah, and it's your image and likeness going online. Do you like the recording or not?" Rachel repeated.

"I think it's fabulous." He decided.

"So do I." Rachel agreed. She saved the file and closed the camera.

"My laptop is up in my room. The tour continues." Kurt announced grandly. He continued to show Rachel around the school, until they arrived at the dorms. Kurt led Rachel in. It didn't take much for Rachel to guess which bed was Kurt's. He'd artfully arranged iconic black and white images of the Golden Age of Hollywood above his bed, as well as family photos and several post modern furniture pieces. Rachel observed the rest of the room. Nobody had gone anywhere near the same amount of effort. She grinned when she saw one of Kurt's Gaga shoes sitting on his desk as paperweight. She sat down at his laptop and made quick work of uploading their video onto her MySpace. She then changed his wallpaper to a picture of her taken on his webcam.

"Is it weird being away from home?" Rachel asked. Kurt plunked himself on her lap and used the webcam to take another picture with Rachel. He pondered the question.

"Yeah, it is kinda strange to not be around my dad, especially because he was so sick. But I think my not living at home is a good thing. I would have thrown an egg the first time Satana came home with Finn." Kurt answered. Rachel burst out giggling.

"I can't imagine you egging anyone!" she burst out. Kurt joined in her laughter, and the two of them became a pile of belly laughs until one of Kurt's roommates walked in. Kurt extracted himself from Rachel's lap quickly but discreetly. Rachel checked out the boy with curly, curly hair, recognised him and the significance of the word above his bed and gasped.

"That's why you always send Kurt text messages that say courage! Are you a Gryffindor? I demand to join S.P.E.W!" Rachel hissed.

"I take it this is Rachel?" Blaine asserted with a grin.

"How'd you guess?" Kurt drawled. Rachel smiled charmingly.

"Its lovely to finally meet you Blaine." She said sweetly. Blaine came over to her and kissed her hand in a gallant gesture.

"No, this isn't a hideout for American wizards." He added with a wink.

"Well, that's disappointing." Rachel grumbled.

"How's everything going with New Directions Rach? Song choices for regionals underway?" Kurt asked conversationally. Rachel smirked.

"Surprise, surprise, not really. Apparently our next assignment is going to inform who gets the leads though." Rachel said.

"Should you be discussing this with the enemy?" Blaine asked, eyeing Kurt slightly, warning him to give nothing away. Rachel looked over at Blaine.

"I mean zero disrespect by this Blaine, because you're a lovely performer; but I'm not really all that worried about the Warblers." She informed him.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asked. Rachel took her shoes off and sat cross legged on Kurt's bed.

"I'm just focussed on destroying Vocal Adrenaline." Rachel answered honestly.

"And Dalton isn't an issue? We did tie with you guys." Blaine pointed out. Kurt stared at Rachel and Blaine in horror.

"We tied because our director suffered a brain haemorrhage and decided not to put me on lead vocals. If I had been singing, we would have won for sure." Rachel informed him.

"Nobody's that good. You can't say that definitively." Blaine argued.

"Unfortunately, Rachel can." Kurt interjected.

"Really?" Blaine questioned.

"Just show him already." Kurt sighed. Rachel smiled and stood up. Without a moment's hesitation she belted out _All That Jazz _from _Chicago _completely a capella. Blaine gaped.

"Peter, Paul and Mary, she is fabulous." He gasped. Rachel smiled.

"Why don't we go get some lunch?" Kurt suggested.

* * *

They had just gotten a table at the apparently completely fabulous sushi joint when Rachel's phone buzzed with a text message.

Noah: wat u up 2?

Rachel discreetly typed a reply.

Rachel: out having sushi with Kurt and the new love of his life.

Rachel had just put her phone away and picked up the menu.

Noah: Sushi? 

Rachel rolled her eyes and typed out a response.

Rachel: its rice, raw fish and seaweed.

She didn't even bother putting her phone away as she waited for his reply.

Noah: you won't accept a guy's cum in your mouth, but you're gonna eat that?

Rachel: I should have NEVER let you watch the Breakfast Club. I'm putting my phone away, I'm being rude.

Rachel looked down at the menu.

"Are you going to be able to eat any of this stuff Rachel? I don't know what is and isn't vegan." Kurt pointed out.

"Well, these days I'm more like a vegetarian who doesn't consume dairy." Rachel explained.

"Is there any reason for that?" Blaine inquired politely.

"Pork and shellfish are trefah, and I've eaten beef very rarely since my bat mitzvah because of the whole blood thing, and I got salmonella poisoning from chicken last year which kind of turned me off it." Rachel explained.

"Babe, I don't even know what trefah means." Kurt said.

"It's the opposite of kosher. You guys got room for one more?" Rachel looked up to see that Puck had approached the table. Rachel frowned at him as she slid her bag onto the ground and moved so that Puck could slip into the booth.

"How're you guys doing?" Puck asked cheerfully. He shook Kurt's hand and kissed Rachel on the cheek in the way that was a customary greeting at the JCC. He stuck his hand out.

"Hey, I'm Puck." He introduced himself. Blaine took the proffered hand.

"Blaine." He answered, shaking it firmly.

* * *

Lunch had been fabulous, and everyone was feeling very Zen as they made their way back to their cars. Kurt and Puck were talking about something to do with cars (the details had gone beyond the colour and Rachel had completely tuned out), and Rachel and Blaine walked a little bit behind them.

"If you hurt him, I will kill you." Rachel said as calmly as she would state that there was snow on the ground.

"Excuse me?" Blaine asked.

"If you hurt my boy, or make him become some pathetic little cookie cutter Dalton boy, or make him in any way miserable, I'll make you bleed." Rachel threatened him sweetly.

"I'm not going to hurt him Rachel." Blaine assured her.

"Good. Then you don't need to worry about this conversation." Rachel said cheerfully. She skipped and caught up to where Kurt and Puck were cheerfully.

"You need a ride home Rach?" Puck asked. Rachel smiled.

"That would be great. Dad says he's probably going to be working until at least midnight, and I don't really want to have to hang out at his office that long." Rachel said.

"Why exactly did you decided to hike it all the way out here Puck?" Kurt inquired discreetly.

"My mom is all psycho because my sister's bat mitzvah is soon, so I escaped the house and ended up here." Puck answered quickly. Kurt chose not to mention Rachel's earlier facebook status mentioning that she'd be heading out to Dalton for the day.

"Noah! Have some respect! Your sister's bat mitzvah is important!" Rachel admonished him.

"Fine. You can come over and teacher my sister how to pronounce Hebrew properly." Puck shot back.

"Maybe I will." Rachel replied sassily, sticking her tongue out.

"Are you guys like the token Jews of your glee club?" Blaine asked.

"I guess you could say that." Puck said, throwing an affectionate arm around Rachel.

"We've got a token everything else. Except a token gay kid. You stole him." Rachel added.

"Seriously?" Blaine asked.

"Oh yeah. We've got a holier than thou Christian girl, sassy black chick, all American boy, dopey footballer, the Asian fusion of a closet dance nerd and Goth chick, dumb blonde cheerleader, Puck's our resident bad boy, a wrestler chick, a handicapable but none the less glass half full student, I'm the club diva and of course we have our one and only home wreaker." Rachel rattled off. She noticed Puck's frown as he looked at the screen of his phone.

"Wow. No kidding. You really do have it all. You're like the blueprint for a teen comedy." Blaine responded. Rachel nodded and shivered at the cold.

"I'm feeling the need for some hot chocolate. C'mon guys." Kurt announced. He and Blaine began to head towards a cafe. Rachel stopped Puck.

"Are you ok? You don't look happy at the texts you're getting." She asked him. His phone buzzed again. He groaned.

"Its Santana. She won't stop sexting me." He said. Rachel took the phone off him and quickly hit delete, trying desperately not to see the details of exactly what was happening to Santana's panties.

"Just ignore her." Rachel advised. She linked arms with Puck and they walked into the cafe.

Orders were taken, and then it became a game of getting to know you.

"So, tell me something about you that nobody would expect." Blaine said. He looked at Puck.

"I love broccoli." He answered coolly.

"Interesting." Kurt commented.

"What about you Rachel?" Blaine asked.

"I play guitar." Rachel said.

"Really?" Puck asked, surprised.

"Yeah. I'm not particularly good at it, but its certainly something I enjoy." Rachel replied.

"I always had you pegged as the piano playing type." Kurt said.

"I tried. I can play enough to warm up before I sing, but beyond that I'm kind of terrible." Rachel replied.

"I play the recorder." Blaine offered. Rachel looked at him quizzically.

"What? I thought we were talking about hidden musical talents!" he defended himself.

* * *

Rachel added more pictures to the collage that the inside of her locker was becoming with a smile. Kurt had insisted that they take photos in a photo booth, and had no qualms about pushing Rachel onto Puck's lap because "they needed to all fit in". She smiled at the picture of Puck flexing, Blaine blowing a kiss at the camera, and her fake scream as Kurt playfully bit her cheek. She was excited. She had picked her song for the u-challenge, and she was sure it was going to make a point.

"Give it up Manhands. He's just not that into you." A voice hissed. Rachel put on her showface and turned around to face Santana.

"Hello Santana. I take it your weekend wasn't so pleasant?" She asked politely. She pulled her books out of her locker.

"He'll come back to me. He always does. He needs a girl that's going to put out." Santana snarled.

"So things between you and Finn aren't sunshine and daisies. Tell me, how are you coping with Finn the one minute man?" Rachel asked as she searched for a textbook. Rachel smirked at Santana's shocked expression.

"I didn't have to sleep with Finn to know that he has a few issues with arriving early. Just tell him to think about the mailman." Rachel advised sagely.

"What do you care? I spent my weekend sexting the new object of your pathetic obsession, and you what? Made another MySpace video. Whoo!" Santana mocked her.

"Is that so? Because I spent my weekend deleting those sexts. Generally if your sex is on fire, you have Chlamydia, so I'd advise you get that checked out. I think you're losing your touch." Rachel retorted. She slammed her locker shut. She turned to see the menacing figure of Dave Karofsky, holding an orange slushie.

"I know exactly why Kurt left McKinley. Throw that slushie, and the whole school will know as well." Rachel uttered; voice barely above a whisper. Karofsky hesitated. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Throw it. I'm sure everyone would love to know how you..." she trailed off. She had the supreme satisfaction of watching Dave Karofsky walk away. She let out an extremely undignified snort when she heard Santana's scream of "What the FUCK?" when she checked Puck's phone. Rachel flipped out her own phone.

"That... SCARLET WOMAN!" Rachel hissed as soon as Kurt answered. She recounted the conversation to Kurt.

"You need to fight for your man." Kurt advised.

"How do I do that?" She asked.

"You were going to sing for Puck, right? Change it up a little. Claim your territory. Get creative babe." He advised.

"I have an idea." Rachel pondered.

"Also, I may or may not have told Puck you picked a song for him. K love you bye!" Kurt said quickly as he hung up.

* * *

Rachel was actually quite nervous as she sat and watched the various performances. Brittany had started out with a version of _Your Love is My Drug_ that involved a very tiny costume and lots of body paint. (Rachel and Puck's heads had both turned at that. Rachel maintained that sexuality was a fluid thing, and if Brittany needed help with that perfect record, Rachel probably wouldn't stop her). Quinn's _Unwritten_ was surprisingly sweet, and Mercedes had torn the house up with _You Make Me Feel (like a natural woman)_. Most of the guys' performances so far had been forgettable (with the exception of Sam's version of _Your Song_, sung sappily to Quinn). Santana got up, and performed a random risqué number.

"So, tell me Santana, how do you connect that to the challenge I set you?" Mr. Schue asked. He looked over at Ms. Holiday. Even with her laissez faire approach to teaching, she looked horrified.

"Well, ummm... I guess YOU really liked it. Besides, it's just so catchy!" She justified quickly.

"Yeah, herpes is catchy too." Puck whispered to Rachel. Rachel burst into giggles, which she quickly tried to suppress.

"Puck, Rachel, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" Mr. Schue asked. Rachel wiped away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"Nah, we're good sir." Puck said innocently.

"Good. Rachel, you're up next." Mr. Schue said sharply. Rachel nodded, and stood up. She retrieved her acoustic guitar from its hiding place. She quickly checked to make sure it was still in tune. She walked to the centre of the room and sat on a stool.

"A little something you don't know about me is that I play guitar. I changed my song to this one this afternoon; because I feel I have a point to make, and I hope the right people pick up on it. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy, and I want to say a quick thank you to my daddy for my twang." Rachel said. She switched her grip on the pick and began to play.

_You call to tell me something__  
__You say I oughta know__  
__That he don't love me anymore__  
__And I have to let him go__  
__You say you're gonna take him__  
__Oh but I don't think you can__  
__Because you ain't woman enough to take my man__  
_

Rachel finally gained the guts to take her eyes off the chords she was playing and fixed a look on a certain cheerleader.

_Women like you, they're a dime a dozen__  
__You can buy 'em anywhere__  
__For you to get to him I'd have to come over__  
__And I'm gonna stand right here__  
__Well it'll be over my dead body__  
__So get out while you can__  
__'Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man_

She sent an affectionate look Puck's way before she kept singing.

_Sometimes a man goes lookin' at things that he don't need__  
__He'd take a second look at you__  
__But he's in love with me__  
__Well I don't know where they leave you__  
__Oh but I know where I'll stand__  
__And you ain't woman enough to take my man_

_Women like you, they're a dime a dozen__  
__You can buy 'em anywhere__  
__For you to get to him I'd have to come over__  
__And I'm gonna stand right here__  
__It'll be over my dead body__  
__So get out while you can__  
__'Cause you ain't woman enough to take my man__  
__Oh you ain't woman enough to take my man_

Rachel smiled at the applause.

"I hope I've made my point." She said politely. She accepted a high five from Ms. Holiday and sat down next to Puck to listen to Tina's version of _Uprising _by Muse.

* * *

"Ok, so last we have Puck." Mr. Schue said. Puck stood up, poked his back pocket, and slung a guitar on. He began to play the opening chords of a song

_Yeah_

_Lover, I'm off the street__  
__Gonna go where the bright lights and the big city meet__  
__With a red guitar, on fire__  
__Desire_

Rachel couldn't help but start dancing in her seat.

_She's a candle burning in my room__  
__Yeah, I'm like the needle, needle and spoon__  
__Over the counter with a shotgun__  
__Pretty soon, everybody got one__  
__And the fever, when I'm beside her__  
__Desire, desire_

She smiled when Puck came towards her singing, and she couldn't help but stand up and start dancing. She noticed several club members do the same thing.

_And the fever getting higher__  
__Desire, desire__  
__Burning, burning_

Puck pulled Rachel towards him as he sang

_She's the dollars, she's my protection__  
__Yeah, she's a promise in the year of election__  
__Oh sister, I can't let you go__  
__I'm like a preacher stealing hearts at a travelling show__  
__For love or money, money, money...__  
__And the fever, getting higher__  
__Desire, desire__  
__Desire, desire__  
_

Puck swung his guitar to sit behind his back, and pulled a harmonica out of his back pocket and began to play.

_Desire, desire, alright_

He played the harmonica to the dying bars of the song and grinned at the applause that followed.

"Wow, that was awesome!" Ms. Holiday called out. She fist bumped Puck.

"Thanks." He said, slightly breathless from playing the harmonica.

* * *

Ms. Holiday and Mr. Schue had headed to Schue's office to discuss the competition (or make out, Rachel was under no illusion that Schue wasn't using glee club to boost his love life slash make Ms. Pillsbury-Howell jealous). Rachel sat quietly, admiring her guitar calluses.

"That wasn't the song, was it?" Puck asked her. Rachel looked up at him, confused.

"Oh come on. Kurt told me." Puck explained. Rachel shook her head.

"Nope. That wasn't it." She said quietly.

"Am I ever gonna hear it?" He asked.

"Do you really want to?" She questioned quietly.

"Hell yes!" He replied. She nodded and picked up her guitar, determined to just sing it before she lost her nerve. She began to pick out the opening chords.

_Well you done done me and you bet I felt it__  
__I tried to be chill but you're so hot that I melted__  
__I fell right through the cracks, now I'm trying to get back_

_Before the cool done run out I'll be giving it my bestest__  
__And nothing's going to stop me but divine intervention__  
__I reckon it's again my turn to win some or learn some_

_But I won't hesitate no more, no more__  
__It cannot wait, I'm yours_

Rachel hummed along, unaware that the rest of the glee club was slowly moving to watch her play.

_Well open up your mind and see like me__  
__Open up your plans and then you're free__  
__Look into your heart and you'll find love love love love_

_Listen to the music of the moment people, dance and sing__  
__We're just one big family__  
__And it's our God-forsaken right to be loved loved loved loved loved_

Rachel felt her confidence radiate over her when she looked at Puck and saw the smile on his face. She grinned back

_So I won't hesitate no more, no more__  
__It cannot wait, I'm sure__  
__There's no need to complicate, our time is short__  
__This is our fate, I'm yours_

_D-d-do do you, but do you, d-d-do__  
__But do you want to come on__  
__Scooch on over closer dear__  
__And I will nibble your ear_

Rachel stuck her tongue out playfully. She remembered all too clearly Puck's weakness for her mouth teasing his ears.

_I've been spending way too long checking my tongue in the mirror__  
__And bending over backwards just to try to see it clearer__  
__But my breath fogged up the glass__  
__And so I drew a new face and I laughed_

_I guess what I be saying is there ain't no better reason__  
__To rid yourself of vanities and just go with the seasons__  
__It's what we aim to do, our name is our virtue_

Rachel ignored any clapping along, and simply looked at Puck, her fingers dancing over the frets effortlessly. 

_But I won't hesitate no more, no more__  
__It cannot wait, I'm yours_

She kept singing, a smile plastered on her face as the rest of the gleeks sang along, seemingly unaware that this was way more than an impromptu jam session.

_(I won't hesitate)__  
__Open up your mind and see like me__  
__(No more, no more)__  
__Open up your plans and man you're free__  
__Look into your heart and you'll find that the sky is yours__  
__(It cannot wait, I'm sure)_

_So please don't, please don't, please don't__  
__(There's no need to complicate)__  
__There's no need to complicate__  
__(Our time is short)__  
__'Cause our time is short__  
__(This is our fate)__  
__This is, this is, this is our fate__  
__I'm yours_

The competition didn't really matter anymore. Rachel was far more excited by the fact that Puck had stolen the guitar from her hands, put it away haphazardly and pulled her into a bruising kiss in front of the whole glee club. Kurt couldn't help but squeal when he opened the text sent to him by Mercedes of that very image with the words "I guess fruit really is better than pastry"  and he hurried off to find Blaine to share the news._  
_

* * *

Thoughts?

x


End file.
